YouTube pilot Matt Wright 'died in 200ft glider crash'

Matt Wright was an experienced glider pilot instructor and commercial pilot

An experienced pilot well known for filming his adventures died when his glider got into difficulty at 200ft (61m) and crashed, an inquest heard.

Matt Wright, 47, of Washfield, Devon, crashed into Dartmoor in December 2016 as "turbulent" conditions caused him to go into a spin, the hearing was told.

Mr Wright, who was described as a "bit of a legend" for posting his films on YouTube, died from multiple injuries.

On Thursday, the inquest jury recorded a conclusion of accidental death.

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Mr Wright had been an experienced commercial pilot who had assembled his own glider at the Dartmoor Gliding Society at Brentor near Tavistock.

His friend and fellow glider pilot Matthew Williamson told the inquest "we were looking for challenging flying".

He said conditions on the day meant they were able to lift up to 20,000ft over Dartmoor, "which does not happen very often".

He told the hearing Mr Wright was seeking an "epic wave" but suffered a cable break from the winch that propelled his glider for take-off.

'Lost control'

Within a minute of taking off, Mr Wright crashed into the moorland and his aircraft disintegrated.

Witness John Pursey said: "He levelled off and began to turn to the left, which was the wrong thing to do.

"It was too slow to manoeuvre and he descended rapidly and was at the mercy of the wind and he crashed into the moorland."

He had two fixed cameras to his glider to film his flight.

Senior Coroner Philip Spinney said: "He lost control of the glider and it hit the ground causing fatal injuries."

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch found no defects on his aircraft and said he could have landed on the airfield rather than try to make a circuit before landing.

They said he made "an ill-judged manoeuvre".

Mr Wright's mother described how her Rhodesia-born son "greatly enjoyed and was passionate about" flying.